Latest Cycling News, May 26, 2009

Di Luca in two-man Giro race

Danilo Di Luca faces a two-man battle for the Giro d'Italia title after
yesterday's mountain
stage to Monte Petrano. The Italian and his rival, race leader Denis
Menchov, forced Levi Leipheimer out of contention on the final climb.

After 226 kilometres, Di Luca and Menchov were part of a group of favourites
that included Levi Leipheimer at the bottom of the 10.4-kilometre climb
up Monte Petrano. Leipheimer was only 43 seconds away from the overall
lead at the start of the day, but lost 2.51 after he fell off the pace
with eight kilometres remaining.

Coming up on

Cyclingnews will cover the 60th edition of
the Dauphiné Libéré live
as of stage 4 on Wednesday, June 10, at approximately 15:00 local Europe
time (CEST)/ 23:00 Australian time (CDT)/ 9:00 (USA East).

WAP-enabled mobile devices: http://live.cyclingnews.com/wap/

Di
Luca began the day in second overall at 34 seconds behind Menchov. He
tried twice to create an advantage - at eight and 5.5 kilometres remaining
- but Menchov responded both times. "I tried to drop him with a sudden
attack. He responded very well and at that point it was useless to continue
trying. I preferred to go with a steady rhythm since Sastre was riding
himself into the classification."

Sastre rode away solo with seven kilometres remaining and the Spaniard
gained 25 seconds, and is now third overall at 2.19 back. Di Luca is 39
seconds behind Menchov.

There are two more days that favour Di Luca: Blockhaus (Wednesday) and
Vesuvio (Friday). Both stages end with long mountain climbs, with the
former near Di Luca's home of Pescara. "They’re my last two chances but
with Menchov like this, it’s difficult to drop him. If he makes one slight
error then there could be a possibility, though."

The Giro d'Italia ends with a 14.4-kilometre time trial on Sunday. Menchov,
a two-time winner of the Vuelta a España, is a favourite over the flat
course.

Sunderland picks Menchov over Sastre

Scott Sunderland, former CSC sports director and now with Team Sky, has
given his assessment over Carlos Sastre's chances of winning the Giro.
"Carlos put in an awesome effort yesterday [at the Monte Petrano stage
16 on Monday - ed.], but I don't think this puts him in a position
in which he can win the Giro," Sunderland told Cyclingnews on Tuesday.

The Spanish Tour de France winner took the victory on the decisive mountain
stage and made up precious time to his rivals. Still, he sits in third
position on general classification, 2.19 minutes adrift of race leader
Denis Menchov (Rabobank) and 1.40 minutes behind second-placed Danilo
Di Luca (LPR).

Sunderland, who knows Sastre well through his years at CSC, thought
that the Spaniard used up vital energy on the road to Monte Petrano on
Monday. "Carlos [Sastre] dug deep yesterday," he said. "He can improve
a little still in these last few days, with a rest day to his advantage.
But I think he might come up a bit short to make up all that time [2.19
to Menchov at least - ed.]."

The Australian thought that Sastre may be a bit too far behind to be
a real threat to maglia rosa wearer Menchov. "He'd have to have
an exceptional day again, as he has to make up three minutes before the
time-trial to have a realistic chance of winning this Giro," Sunderland
said.

"As far as I can see, there are only three contenders for the final
podium left in the race. Both Menchov and Di Luca are better against the
clock, so in the last TT they won't lose time. Just doing the maths on
the situation as it is right now, going into the last 14km-long ITT, anyone
wanting to take the final overall should have a 20 to 30 seconds lead
on Menchov."

The Rabobank rider looked serene on Monte Petrano even though his adversaries
did not leave out a chance to attack him. "Seeing the ease with which
Menchov rode yesterday, I think he's is the favourite for the overall
win on Sunday," Sunderland said. "Menchov was in control; riding within
himself and keeping his cool. The manner in which he sprinted away from
Di Luca in the end says it all."

Leipheimer "not strong enough" in Petrano battle

Levi Leipheimer may have lost his chance of win the Giro d'Italia Monday
by falling over two minutes back to the race favourites on the stage to
Monte Petrano.

"Today [yesterday] was the day that separated everyone and you see who's
strong and who's not," said Leipheimer.

The stage contained four categorised climbs through the Appennini mountains
of Le Marche region. Leipheimer, third overall and 43 seconds back on
the lead heading into the day, was with race leader Denis Menchov and
second placed Danilo Di Luca for the start of the final climb up Monte
Petrano.

"Immediately at the bottom of the climb, they started going faster and
I did not feel strong enough to go with them," said Leipheimer.

Astana teammate Lance Armstrong proved his form was on the rise by bridging
up to the favourites on the 10.4-kilometre climb when Leipheimer lost
ground. A surge by eventual stage winner Carlos Sastre at eight kilometres
remaining distanced Armstrong, who then paced Leipheimer.

"I would have lost much more time. He saved me minutes and minutes.
I don't feel as strong as before, you see the difference between a seven-time
Tour winner like Lance. He was stronger and had to wait for me today."

Leipheimer will recover his strength on the rest day in Chieti. He is
sixth overall at 3:21 behind race leader Denis Menchov, but only 1:02
behind third-placed Sastre.

The American may be able to gain or conserve time over the next two
mountain-top finishes of Blockhaus (Wednesday) and Vesuvio (Friday) to
stay in contention for a podium place. The race finishes on Sunday in
Rome with a stage that is suited to Leipheimer, a 14.4-kilometre time
trial.

"I went clear for the team and then I just took the situation as it
came to me," he told Cyclingnews.

Popovych broke away with 19 others, forming a well-balanced lead group.
They battled over the race's climbs, but prior to the fourth and final
climb of Monte Petrano the Ukrainian was on his own.

"There were a lot of guys just trying to save their legs in the escape.
I am not stupid, I saw many riders who joined the escape and then pulled
very little. When we took seven-plus minutes and we had a good rhythm,
but they helped only a little bit."

Damiano Cunego (Lampre) and Gabriele Bosisio (LPR) were the last to
stay with Popovych, who was trying for a stage win and staying up the
road in case team captain Levi Leipheimer needed him in a crucial moment.
Cunego was fighting for a stage win to salvage his Giro d'Italia and Bosisio
was seemingly playing dead for classification favourite and teammate Danilo
Di Luca.

"The strongest were Cunego and I but not Bosisio. Let's not kid ourselves!
Bosisio stayed on our wheels all the day and did not pull one metre,"
said Popovych, who stayed on his own until 2.5 kilometres remaining of
the 10.4-kilometre climb. Carlos Sastre (Cervélo) then passed him and
went on to win the stage. The Astana rider eventually drifted further
back, passed by teammates Leipheimer and Lance Armstrong, to finish 18th.

Popovych joined team Astana this year to ride at the side of Armstrong
and under the guidance of Johan Bruyneel. He raced the 2008 season with
Silence-Lotto.

Rest day wrap: Changing terrain, changing fortunes

The Giro d'Italia's second week delivered the mix of racing fans had
hoped for. Two sprint stages, a punishing time trial, successful breaks
and a host of tough mountains in searing heat resulted in a definitive,
albeit slight, lead for a Russian stalwart.

Cavendish proved his sprinting superiority by easily winning two stages
before dropping out of the race to rest up for the Tour de France. Meanwhile,
behind the Brit opponents squabbled with one another, most likely out
of frustration at not being able to get around the speedy Manxman.

Rabobank's Denis Menchov powered his way around the feared and lengthy
Cinque Terre time trial to take the maglia rosa from Danilo Di
Luca, although the Italian was able to hang on doggedly to second place.
Astana's Levi Leipheimer moved up to third overall following a strong
showing in the TT, although after stage 16 he would drop to sixth overall.

Popular opinion had Astana's Lance Armstrong a favourite for the time
trial, with the American apparently planning to hunt the win; it soon
became clear that it was not to be. He went through the first time check
43 seconds down and continued to lose time along the way.

The seven-time Tour de France champion finished in a time sandwiched
between the defending Tour champion and an Australian Giro hopeful (Carlos
Sastre and Michael Rogers) but time lost in the subsequent stages meant
he lies in 12th place, 11 minutes down on Menchov, by the second rest
day.

Kashechkin to CAS for come-back in August

Alexandre Vinokourov isn't the only Kazakh rider who wants to return
after the 2009 Tour de France. Andrey Kashechkin is also preparing for
his return to competition. He told Cyclingnews that he awaits a
statement from the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) to allow him to
race again. The hearing is scheduled for June 24, in Lausanne.

"I really love cycling," said Kashechkin as he described his feelings
after almost two years after he received
the visit of the UCI anti-doping controllers in Turkey on August 1,
2007, as he was on vacation with his family. "My first son, David, was
born during the Tour de France," the Kazakh said. "A normal father would
have been with his wife for the birth but I didn't want to pull out of
the race."

He was forced to do so in 2007 after the exclusion of the whole Astana
team following the positive doping test of their captain Vinokourov who
eventually got a one-year suspension from the Kazakh cycling federation
(CFRK), but the UCI made clear that he wouldn't be allowed to race before
serving an effective ban of two years.

Kashechkin, on the other hand, was never suspended. On April 8, 2008,
the CFRK issued a letter communicating that they didn't have "the elements
necessary to start a doping proceeding against Mr. Andrey Kashechkin.
Therefore Mr. Andrey Kashechkin has no case to answer and is free to exercise
any cycling competitive activity." The Kazakh authorities argued that
they didn't receive the documents they had requested concerning the B-sample
analysis from the UCI.

"But in everybody's mind, I'm positive", said Kashechkin who was found
positive for blood transfusion like Vinokourov. "I've always said
that I'm not against the doping controls. I'm transparent and available
24 hours a day, anytime, anywhere. I fill up the documents for my whereabouts
all the time. But I haven't been tested so far since August 1, 2007."

Although he has no current contact with Vinokourov, Kashechkin still
remains a resident in Monaco where he takes care of his son, but also
keeps on training. "All the tests at the cardio centre of Monaco are good",
he said. "I'm prepared to intensify my training once I can race again.
I’m just wait for the CAS to state that, for instance, on August 1st,
after two years of inactivity, I'm totally free to race."

But Kashechkin will still have to find a team. "I haven't contacted
anybody yet", he said. He had a contract with Astana running until the
end of 2009 but that was signed with the Zeus company of Marc Biver, not
Johan Bruyneel's Olympus. "If anybody opens his door to me, I’ll go in",
Kashechkin said. "If I can put a number on my back at the start of any
race, I'd be a happy man. The course of the inaugural time trial of the
Tour de France in Monaco (on July 4) suits me perfectly, I know every
corner and every meter of the race, but I'd need something magical to
happen for me to take part in it. I've always had the vision that I'll
race again, I just don't know when."

Kohl: blood-doping at the Tour

Bernhard Kohl not only used CERA during the 2008 Tour de France, but
also blood doping. The Austrian underwent three transfusions of his own
blood during the race, he said on German television Monday night, after
announcing his retirement
from the sport. In another interview, he admitted that he first started
doping at age 19 when he joined the military.

Appearing on the Beckmann talk show, Kohl said that he received
the EPO derivative CERA from a "sports colleague", whose name he did not
publicly mention. Kohl was suspended
for two years after testing
positive for CERA at the Tour.

The Austrian's manager Stefan Matschiner brought two litres of blood
and centrifuge to the Tour, Kohl said. He went to Matschiner's hotel room
three times to receive transfusions of half a litre. "In a few quiet minutes
between massage, interviews, eating. It went pretty fast, it was all over
in 20 minutes."

Meanwhile, Kohl denied that there was any systematic doping at his former
Team Gerolsteiner. "I can definitely say that there as no team-organised
doping." But he wouldn't comment as to whether any team doctors were involved,
saying only, "If a doctor can add one and one together, then he knows
that this performance didn't happen honestly."

His first exposure to doping came at age 19, when he joined the Austrian
military as an athlete-soldier. "At 19, I had got maybe three or four
shots," he said in an interview widely printed in the Austrian media.
Doping starts in the U23 days, he said, and not just in cycling.

His continued the use of performance-enhancing substances was not hindered
by doping controls. "Out of 200 controls, 198 showed nothing. And I tell
you, 100 of them should have been positive. "I would give myself a shot
in the morning, the controllers came an hour later - so what."

Blood passport ineffective?

Kohl moreover said that the UCI's blood passport had been a big help
to his career, implying that the system does not detect doping as expected.
"I had the blood passport for a year and a half, and my blood values were
A-1. That's why I got my super contract with Silence-Lotto."

Kohl said that Silence-Lotto "saw my blood values and said, 'wow, he
does that well!' Because they know that you don't finish third in the
Tour simply from bread and water, that the medical aspect has to be there,
too. They said, 'he's no risk, we can spend a lot of money on him.'" (SW)

Valverde takes legal action

Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) has taken legal action against
members of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) as well as the World Anti-Doping
Agency (WADA). After receiving
a two-year ban by the Italian anti-doping tribunal on May 11, Valverde's
lawyers argue that the suspension was delivered in disobedience of Spanish
law.

In a press release, Valverde informed that "separate legal and penal
proceedings were taken before the Spanish courts against the members of
the National Anti Doping National Court (TNA) of the CONI (...) and aganist
the World Anti-Doping Agency for possible offences of disobedience to
the Spanish judicial authorities." The two-year ban on Italian soil could
prevent Valverde from racing the Tour de France, which passes through
the country this year.

"These institutions continue to behave with total contempt towards the
Spanish judicial authorities, refusing to obey the decisions of the Court
of Instruction Nr. 31 of Madrid, which prevent from using the evidence
of the penal procedure against sportsmen," the press release continued.

Valverde also made known that he is suing the Italian Olympic Committee's
head prosecutor, Ettore Torri, as well as Jesper Worre, President of the
Danish Cycling Federation, for damages. Worre had said that the Spaniard
was not welcome
at the Tour of Denmark.

Colavita-Sutter Home sweeps Tour of Somerville

Colavita-Sutter Home sprinters Sebastian Haedo and Tina Pic won their
second consecutive Tour
of Somerville criteriums held on Memorial Day Monday May 25 in Somerville,
New Jersey. The pair aim to win their respective events at the upcoming
TD Bank Philadelphia International Cycling Championships and the Liberty
Classic held on June 7.

Haedo teammates slung shot him from a perfectly timed lead out, into
the hard-fought bunch sprint. Team Type 1 put forth a commanding finale
lead out for their sprinter Aldo Ino Iiesic. It was overtaken on the final
straight by Haedo and Jake Keough (Kelly Benefit Strategies) for second
place and IIesic was forced to settle for third place.

"My teammates lined up behind the other lead out trains," said Haedo,
who went up against powerful opposition from Kelly Benefits Strategies
and Team Type 1. "It was a long last lap and with the two long straights
on either side of the course, I wanted my teammates to take it easy. I
had my train jump right before the last corner. We expected the fight
from the other teams, we prepared for it and I had no reason to be afraid
of it."

The Tour of Somerville held an added importance for both Colavita-Sutter
Home and Team Type 1 where both team's title sponsors are located in neighboring
New Jersey cities. "This race is always one of the most important races
of the year for us," said Haedo who received a congratulatory cheer from
John A. Profaci, vice president of Colavita USA and their fan base. "It
is not just to say thank you for our professional teams but for the whole
family. The U23 and junior teams, the women's teams, the amateur teams
and all the clubs around the nation - it's for everyone."

Haedo's teammate Tina Pic, a five-time US national criterium champion,
showed she has not lost an ounce of speed winning another the event known
for being one of the fastest criteriums in the country. Pic wound up her
lengthy sprint out of the last corner and flew through the finish line
ahead of fierce sprint rivals Theresa Cliff-Ryan (Verducci-Breakaway)
and Laura van Gilder (C3-Sollay).

"We call this race the Colavita world championships," laughed Pic regarding
the large Colavita-Sutter Home area between the first and second corner.
"It's important for us because the whole company comes out to support
us so it's an event we always want to do well in."

Both sprinters are aiming for victories in the highly anticipated TD
Bank Philadelphia International Cycling Championships/Liberty Classic.
"I've been feeling really good this season and I've been healthy," Haedo
said. "I hope to win the race in Philadelphia this year."

Celebrate with Cyclingnews' Giro Sweepstakes

The centenary edition of the Giro d'Italia has started off with exciting
finishes, beautiful terrain and great performances by the superstars of
cycling. We're celebrating the Giro in the best way we know how – working
the race to bring you daily race reports, photos, features and live coverage.

Thanks to our friends at BMC, you can share in the celebration – simply
enter our BMC-Cyclingnews Giro d'Italia Sweepstakes for a chance
to win.

One lucky Grand Prize winner will receive a BMC SLC01 Pro Machine road
bike frame – the same frame ridden by the riders on the US-based BMC Racing
Team – as well as an Assos-made BMC team jersey, cap and socks.